Acts 22

Read: Acts 22

There are few things more powerful than the testimony of a changed life.  Paul was a zealous persecutor of Christians, who had a dramatic transformation.  His approach to reaching these Jews was to tell them about his conversion story because many of them knew him before he was converted.  They had surely wondered what happened to him. They had likely even come to a point of doubting themselves because of such a powerful testimony in Paul’s changed life.  Prior to Paul’s speech, they were about to kill him; but during his speech, they became silent. They actually listened to what he had to say to them as he spoke to them in their own language.  But then Paul said one thing that broke the silence and angered the crowd. He told them that the Lord said to him, “Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”  

As was discussed in regards to Acts 10 and 11, the Jews did not think too highly of the Gentiles.  They saw themselves as superior because they were God’s chosen people. Jews prided themselves on not being like the Gentiles in the way they lived, ate, and practiced religious piety.  Saying that God now was offering the same hope to the Gentiles that he had offered the Jews put their self-identity at risk. There was no way that this message could be true if God sent Paul to “those people.”  To the Jews, what Paul had said seemed like betrayal and blasphemy against God. Thus they continued pushing for Paul’s execution.

This may seem crazy to some of us today, but if we search our hearts we have our own prejudices.  They may not be as clear cut, but we can find them if we look deep enough. If you are a Democrat, how do you feel about Republicans?  Or Republicans, how do you feel about Democrats? What if a politician got up and shared a message that you did not disagree with, but then revealed that they supported the party that is opposite of your views?  Would that change the way you viewed his or her message? A lot of us would say no, but if we are honest, deep down it would probably change some things. What about people of other races? Do you tend to look differently towards someone who is not of the same ethnicity as you and question their intelligence or agenda?  It is easy to judge people based on their affiliations and outward appearance, but God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Satan is looking for anything he can find to divide us. This is why Paul’s listeners go so quickly from peaceful to violent. Don’t let Satan sow seeds of discord and prejudice in your heart. We need to listen to people’s words and judge them by what they say and how they act on it, not on what their background or affiliation is.